{"id":15833,"date":"2020-12-15T16:04:29","date_gmt":"2020-12-15T16:04:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/odysseyworkshop.org\/newsite\/wordpress\/?page_id=15833"},"modified":"2026-05-29T01:35:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T01:35:03","slug":"class-of-2019","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.odysseyworkshop.org\/class-pages\/class-of-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"CLASS OF 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner css=”.vc_custom_1551238839456{background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”Odyssey Class of 2019″ font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:center” google_fonts=”font_family:Actor%3Aregular|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][vc_single_image image=”16804″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center”][vc_single_image image=”16806″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Front Row<\/strong>: Brenna Harvey, Christine Tyler, Susannah Mandel, Cheyenne Shaffer, Aaron Horsager
\nMiddle Row<\/strong>: Christina Scott, Odyssey Director Jeanne Cavelos, P.H. Lee, Lynn Buchanan
\nTop Row<\/strong>: Kyle de Waal, William Wood, Christopher Degni, Peter Zuckerman, A. Humphrey Lanham, Tamara Jer\u00e9e, Lulu Kadhim<\/p>\n

Photo taken by Resident Supervisor: A. Katherine Black[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row gap=”5″ equal_height=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1599510526550{padding-top: 5px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1551289727346{background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”16808″ alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Cheyenne Shaffer” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]Odyssey was truly the best six weeks of my life.\u00a0 To spend all my time focused on the thing I\u2019m most passionate about and surrounded by like-minded and inspirational people was just amazing.\u00a0 Jeanne is by far the most helpful and knowledgeable writing teacher I\u2019ve ever had, and she genuinely cares about all of her students and wants us to do well.\u00a0 My writing process has been completely transformed at Odyssey, and the skills I\u2019ve learned and the friends I\u2019ve made will hopefully follow me for the rest of my life.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1551290044842{background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”16809″ alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Peter Zuckerman” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Odyssey transformed my writing.\u00a0 I can now produce better writing on a more consistent basis.\u00a0 I made friends whom I will be friends with forever.\u00a0 I learned more than I could ever have imagined I would learn.\u00a0 I loved it.\u00a0 It\u2019s hard to believe such an awesome writing workshop actually exists.\u00a0 Lightbulbs went off in my head every day, sometimes even every fifteen minutes.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row gap=”5″ equal_height=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1599510541683{padding-top: 5px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1551289727346{background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”16810″ alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Tamara Jer\u00e9e” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]I\u2019ve seen my writing and my peers\u2019 writing transform so much in such a short amount of time! Jeanne is so intensely dedicated to helping us all grow, and her insight is always so helpful.\u00a0 I am excited to go home and continue the growth I started here, and I\u2019m more confident about my skills while having a clear sense of what I need to continue working on.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1551290044842{background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”16812″ alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”P. H. Lee” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

When I practice on my own, I can only improve the things I\u2019m already good at.\u00a0 At Odyssey, I became better at things I\u2019m bad at.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row gap=”5″ equal_height=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1599510541683{padding-top: 5px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1551289727346{background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”16814″ alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Christine Tyler” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Odyssey has revolutionized my writing.\u00a0 Every day, I came to class excited and left astounded. Jeanne is a gift to the writing community and a first-class mentor to individuals.\u00a0 I can\u2019t overstate how wonderful this experience has been.\u00a0 I will be forever proud to call myself an Odfellow.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1551290044842{background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”16816″ alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Aaron Horsager” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Odyssey provides a thorough curriculum on genre writing that you put into immediate practice by writing and critiquing.\u00a0 The experience is demanding, but the community of writers is wonderful, and Jeanne is insightful and supportive.\u00a0 My writing has improved a lot while I\u2019ve been here, and I feel equipped with the tools to continue this progress into the future.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row gap=”5″ equal_height=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1599510541683{padding-top: 5px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1551289727346{background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”16818″ alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Brenna Harvey” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]Jeanne Cavelos has assembled an incredible breadth of material and synthesized it into a thought-provoking, challenging, revelatory, frequently hilarious boot camp for aspiring writers. The close readings, writing exercises, plotting techniques, vocabulary, and writing experience that Odyssey provided to its students is a gift to the entire field of speculative fiction.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1551290044842{background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”16822″ alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”A. Humphrey Lanham” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]Attending Odyssey was perhaps one of the best decisions I could have ever made for my writing career.\u00a0 I learned a lot, made invaluable social connections, and will keep using the tools I have built at Odyssey for decades to come.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row gap=”5″ equal_height=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1599510541683{padding-top: 5px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1551289727346{background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”16823″ alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Christina Scott” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]Odyssey was a wonderful experience. I was able to grow as a writer and truly focus on my writing.\u00a0 Jeanne was patient and kind.\u00a0 The critiques helped me see what could be improved in my own work.\u00a0 I feel so blessed to have had the Odyssey experience![\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1551290044842{background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”16825″ alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Lulu Kadhim” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]Odyssey was a transformative experience, and I have learned so much from it.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know how Jeanne manages to stuff so much wisdom into six weeks!\u00a0 She is a fantastic and supportive instructor, and I\u2019m so glad I was able to come.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row gap=”5″ equal_height=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1599510526550{padding-top: 5px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1551289727346{background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”16826″ alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”William R. D. Wood” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]I believe in two things, writing and immersion, and you will not find a better combination than Odyssey.\u00a0 I believe in other things too, but they seemed less relevant here.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1551290044842{background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”16828″ alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Chris Degni” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]Odyssey was the best thing I\u2019ve ever done for my writing. It not only improved my current writing, it gave me a framework for continued improvement after I leave.\u00a0 Jeanne (and Amy) are wonderful, the other students are brilliant, and the experience is unforgettable. It\u2019s exhausting, but I miss it already![\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row gap=”5″ equal_height=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1599510541683{padding-top: 5px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1551289727346{background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”16829″ alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Kyle de Waal” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]Odyssey is incredible because Jeanne is incredible!\u00a0 I cannot overemphasize how much care and energy she spends on her students.\u00a0 She provides amazing feedback, and I got so, so much out of my private meetings with her.\u00a0 Everything else about Odyssey is really good, but Jeanne is amazing.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know how she does it.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1551290044842{background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”16830″ alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Susannah Mandel” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row gap=”5″ equal_height=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1599510541683{padding-top: 5px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}”][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1551290044842{background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”16820″ alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Lynn Buchanan” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]I came to Odyssey because I felt like I\u2019d hit a wall.\u00a0 Or maybe a plateau.\u00a0 Some large, flat, stone surface I was either plastered against, unable to climb, or staggering over, directionless and increasingly exhausted.\u00a0 I knew I was a decent writer\u2013I was getting personal feedback in my rejections from agents and editors, compliments and words of encouragement.\u00a0 But something about my writing was falling short, and I was failing to turn rejections into acceptances.\u00a0 And for the life of me, I couldn\u2019t figure out why.\u00a0 Then I came to Odyssey.\u00a0 I had my weaknesses listed for me, printed out in an orderly fashion, presented to me, and then addressed.\u00a0 I learned<\/em> how to address those weaknesses, those patches of rock too smooth for me to climb up, that endless horizon I\u2019d been bumbling along.\u00a0 Jeanne has a gift for pinpointing areas that need improving and providing direction as to how to practice and, well, improve those areas.\u00a0 At the end of Odyssey, I have an idea of where I\u2019m going, what I can do to become a better writer and achieve the goals I have for my writing.\u00a0 I\u2019m off the plateau.\u00a0 I\u2019m scaling the wall.\u00a0 If you\u2019d like to do the same, come to Odyssey.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1551290670831{margin-top: 20px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Memorable Quotes from the Class of 2019″ font_container=”tag:h4|font_size:30|text_align:center” google_fonts=”font_family:Arimo%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal” css=”.vc_custom_1609201220621{margin-top: 10px !important;}”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row gap=”10″ equal_height=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1551239496334{padding-top: 10px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-bottom: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;background-color: #71cff7 !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1551239407282{background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_column_text]”No time for downtime.” —Aaron<\/p>\n

“Explosions don’t come after commas.” —Susannah<\/p>\n

“I want to understand the eyes.\u00a0 I need to understand the eyes.” —Will<\/p>\n

“Is he buying this from a magic surplus store on the prairie?” —Christina<\/p>\n

“I thought this could be better if everything had more bad consequences.” —Peter<\/p>\n

“Do they just bleed out in rows?” —Christina<\/p>\n

“I enjoyed finally finding out why you needed to know about cat vomit.” —Cheyenne<\/p>\n

“She would probably be pretty dead by the time she got too far.” —Lulu<\/p>\n

“I guarantee there are other geeks out there who get off on fungi dudes.” —Nisi Shawl<\/p>\n

“I was messed up in the best possible way.” —Brenna<\/p>\n

“The monster of suave.” —Will<\/p>\n

“I kind of thought at some point they might just eat her.” —Christina<\/p>\n

“There’s not enough evil.” —Will<\/p>\n

“Kind of endearing and really obnoxious at the same time.” —Alexis<\/p>\n

“Your work reads like a sexy Douglas Adams.” —Christine<\/p>\n

“Jeanne space.” —Cheyenne<\/p>\n

“A werewolf band.” —Will<\/p>\n

“My brain went into too many levels of meta.” —Chris<\/p>\n

“I really wanted to see the angel sweat.” —Alexis<\/p>\n

“I wanted the living armor to be more of a character.” —Peter<\/p>\n

“I wanted to be hit over the head more.” —Peter<\/p>\n

“I got a little hung up on the exploding heads.” —Susannah<\/p>\n

“I feel like this is a crab attached to a bunch of balloons.” —Brenna<\/p>\n

“In my fantasy outline of your story . . .” —Peter & others<\/p>\n

“I would just murder my father’s murderer and trust that the rehabilitation system would let me out in two to three years.” —Lulu<\/p>\n

“Breaking into a morgue is cool.” —Kyle<\/p>\n

“The agent of chaos has struck again.” —Kyle[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1551239417694{background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_column_text]”Oh my god, everything is different! Now I’m dead.” —Lee<\/p>\n

“I thought your main character was a spider…and then I thought they were all spiders.” —Peter<\/p>\n

“It’s not spiders.” —Christine<\/p>\n

“Killing his father might have been a low point.” —Alexis<\/p>\n

“This is the dad corner.” —Kyle<\/p>\n

“I don’t think this sentence should exist.” —Christine<\/p>\n

“Yes, you should be careful how you start your sentences so people don’t jump to the wrong conclusion…and shame on you.” —Jeanne<\/p>\n

“I am against musing in all of its forms.” —Jeanne<\/p>\n

“Alice’s heart stopped. ‘I don’t know if I can make it to the party.'” —Jeanne<\/p>\n

“Okay, so there could be a reason for doing this, but most of the time there isn’t and it’s just a bad writer.” —Jeanne<\/p>\n

“Computers are evil and they’re designed by people who don’t know the English language and don’t care.” —Jeanne<\/p>\n

“In a world without butts…” —Chris<\/p>\n

“Wow, Poe, you’re kind of cool.” —Jeanne<\/p>\n

“It’s like the cheerful little cherry on this nightmare sundae.” —Susannah<\/p>\n

“Somehow, a sentence has been made!” —Susannah<\/p>\n

It could be any waterfall, except that the rocks are beautiful, and while I’m sure we can all agree that that’s an incredibly evocative detail…this is a specific waterfall.” —Kyle<\/p>\n

“Through flow, flow, wicked awesome flow, as we say in New Hampshire.” —Jeanne<\/p>\n

“You are way overthinking this, baby.” —Jeanne<\/p>\n

Jeanne:\u00a0 “Before I say a single word about publishing, you must put your writer brain to sleep.”<\/p>\n

Chris:\u00a0 “When you say ‘put to sleep…'”<\/p>\n

Jeanne:\u00a0 “It’s a mercy.”<\/p>\n

“Speaking hypothetically, if you stick your hand into someone’s chest cavity—purely hypothetically—it’s not going to fit like a glove. It’s going to be a much messier affair. It’s not going to be a glass slipper moment. Hypothetically, legally speaking. Hypothetically.” —Kyle[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_media_grid css=”” grid_id=”vc_gid:1780018424337-6d8d0af1-9b85-8″ include=”16833,16834,16835,16836,16837,16838,16839,16840,16841,16842,16843,16844,16866,16867,16864,16957,16858,16869,16865,16868,16845,16846,16847,16848,16849,16850,16851,16852,16853,16854,16855,16856,16857,16859,16861,16870,16862,16860,16863″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner css=”.vc_custom_1551238839456{background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”Odyssey Class of 2019″ font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:center” google_fonts=”font_family:Actor%3Aregular|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][vc_single_image image=”16804″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center”][vc_single_image image=”16806″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Front Row: Brenna Harvey, Christine Tyler, Susannah Mandel, Cheyenne Shaffer, Aaron Horsager Middle Row: Christina Scott, Odyssey Director Jeanne Cavelos, P.H. Lee, Lynn Buchanan Top Row: Kyle de Waal, William Wood, Christopher Degni, Peter Zuckerman, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":12661,"menu_order":11,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-15833","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t